Critérios de retorno ao esporte após cirurgia de reconstrução do ligamento cruzado anterior: revisão narrativa

Abstract

Determining the criteria to aid in decision making to release the athlete when returning to sports after undergoing a surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament has become increasingly essential. Such criteria are fundamental to prevent relapses, to guarantee the best performance of the athlete and to reduce the costs with health treatment, since they guarantee the return of a safe form, for both the therapist and the athlete. Although there are several tests and clinical measures used as a parameter throughout the rehabilitation process, some of these have a strong correlation with injuries of lower limbs and even with injuries of the anterior cruciate ligament itself, being an important tool for clinical decision making in rehabilitation. Thus, the present study aimed to perform a narrative review of the literature on the main criteria used in clinical practice to define the return to the sport of athletes submitted to reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament and that are easily applicable in clinical practice. The study was conducted in the Medline, SciELO and Pedro databases, with a publication date of the last ten years, without restriction of language or descriptive characteristics of the participants. The following words were used in the search: lca (acl), injury, return, sport, play, parameters and criteria. The most relevant articles were selected after reading the titles and abstracts. We selected 10 articles that used functional tests as parameters of return to the sport to evaluate individuals who had confirmed anterior cruciate ligament injury and underwent ACL reconstruction. Among the functional tests, the hop test was the most used and its score correlates with an increased risk of ACL re-injury. The IKDC self-report questionnaire for knee function was also frequently used, which is an important tool for the subject's perception of the level of function presented. Further studies are required that propose the use of these functional tests and questionnaires specifically standardized to establish the criteria of return to sports after ACL reconstruction.